Lighthouse's recent activity

  1. Comment on If you had up to $55k to purchase an electric vehicle (new/used) with a range of a least 250 miles, what would you buy? in ~transport

    Lighthouse
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    Financing had offers, but I was looking to do a lease due to the tax incentives; money factor was simply too high.

    Financing had offers, but I was looking to do a lease due to the tax incentives; money factor was simply too high.

  2. Comment on If you had up to $55k to purchase an electric vehicle (new/used) with a range of a least 250 miles, what would you buy? in ~transport

    Lighthouse
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    I was planning on buying a Hyundai Ioniq 5 this year, but the interest rates are just too high right now. The SE AWD model has 260 miles of range, and 303 miles on RWD.

    I was planning on buying a Hyundai Ioniq 5 this year, but the interest rates are just too high right now. The SE AWD model has 260 miles of range, and 303 miles on RWD.

    1 vote

  3. Comment on If you use ChatGPT or other LLM, how do you use it? in ~tech

    Lighthouse
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    I've personally found that Bing Chat has been my favorite LLM to use. I typically use it for helping reorganize thoughts (for example, having it rewrite, supplement, or summarize notes), or to...

    I've personally found that Bing Chat has been my favorite LLM to use. I typically use it for helping reorganize thoughts (for example, having it rewrite, supplement, or summarize notes), or to give me feedback on anything that I've written of any substance; I largely use it as a "secondary perspective" or a more powerful proofreader.

    2 votes

  4. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    Lighthouse
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    I pretty much exclusively read non-fiction, and I kind of jump all over the place when it comes to the things I like to read about, and typically don't stick to any particular sub-genres - I just...

    I pretty much exclusively read non-fiction, and I kind of jump all over the place when it comes to the things I like to read about, and typically don't stick to any particular sub-genres - I just pick up what I find interesting.

    I just finished up the new Mitt Romney biography, Romney: A Reckoning by McKay Coppins, which I thought was fantastic, and gave some insights into Romneys' thoughts on the political landscape as it has changed since he ran for President in 2012, and as he has become essentially a pariah within his own party. I felt it didn't hold back any punches, and it came off as sincere while acknowledging his faults, mistakes, and things that he has changed on.

    I'm currently about a third of the way through American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America by Chris Hedges, which at first has seemed a bit prophetic, but quickly remembered that this has always long strategy. I can't say I'm a huge fan of the writing style, but the content has been solid so far.

    The next books that I am reading are Nomad Century: How Climate Migration Will Reshape Our World by Gaia Vance and Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time by Jeff Speck.

    4 votes

  5. Comment on Lesbian group seeks human rights exemption to exclude trans women from Melbourne event in ~lgbt

    Lighthouse
    Link Parent
    I'm so glad the Kilgannon quote was included. I'd highly recommend that @Algernon_Asimov checks out the book The Transgender Issue: Trans Justice Is Justice For All by Shon Faye, notably Chapter 6...

    I'm so glad the Kilgannon quote was included.

    I'd highly recommend that @Algernon_Asimov checks out the book The Transgender Issue: Trans Justice Is Justice For All by Shon Faye, notably Chapter 6 (Kissing Cousins: The T in LGBT) as it very clearly outlines the astroturfing strategy that anti-LGBTQ+ groups are using.

    edit: added tag instead of "OP"

    10 votes

  6. Comment on What upcoming books are you looking forward to? in ~books

    Lighthouse
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    I largely read non-fiction, so these are the books coming out in the next few months that I am particularly interested in: The Deadly Rise in Anti-Science by Dr. Peter Hotez - Dr. Hotez was the...

    I largely read non-fiction, so these are the books coming out in the next few months that I am particularly interested in:

    • The Deadly Rise in Anti-Science by Dr. Peter Hotez - Dr. Hotez was the co-creator of Corbevax, a COVID-19 vaccine that is patent-fee and sold for less than $3 per dose; he is regularly attacked by anti-vaccine and anti-science activists, often . I genuinely feel that we are entering a dark age for both intellectualism and science, and it is important to listen to voices warning us.

    • Under the Eye of Power: How Fear of Secret Societies Shapes American Democracy by Colin Dickey - This technically just came out and I plan on reading it soon. I'm generally interested in seeing the role that conspiratorial thinking has had on politics, going back to things like the John Birch Society.

    • Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein - I've never actually read anything by Naomi Klein before, but this one looks particularly interesting; it's about the co-option of genuine discourse and the rise of pseudo-intellectualism.

    • Romney: A Reckoning by McKay Coppins - I think Romney has been one of the more interesting U.S. politicians after his election defeat in 2012 given that he's basically the last of the Rockefeller Republicans. This biography seems to be fairly all-access and I'm particularly interested in reading the Post-2012 section.

    • Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson - I enjoyed Isaacsons' previous biography of Steve Jobs and am curious to see what he does with this one. I've been trying to figure out what has happened with Elon Musk over the last few years that has basically caused him to spiral into (in my opinion) insanity.

    • Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt - Written by the author of How Democracies Die, this is basically a warning letter on needing to turn things around in order for the Republic to continue to stand.

    • Being Ace: An Anthology of Queer, Trans, Femme, and Disabled Stories of Asexual Love and Connection - As an asexual myself, I've been trying to read the various asexual/aromantic books that have been released recently.

    • Late Fascism: Race, Capitalism and the Politics of Crisis by Alberto Toscano - A general exploration of the rise of fascism in todays' world.

    2 votes

  7. Comment on This feels dumb to ask, but how do you get your news? in ~news

    Lighthouse
    Link Parent
    You don't have to give them those permissions. I don't.

    You don't have to give them those permissions. I don't.

  8. Comment on This feels dumb to ask, but how do you get your news? in ~news

    Lighthouse
    (edited )
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    Artifact News app has been a game changer for me, but unfortunately does not have a desktop interface. It lets you pick the topics that you like (ex. if you don't like sports, you won't see sports...

    Artifact News app has been a game changer for me, but unfortunately does not have a desktop interface. It lets you pick the topics that you like (ex. if you don't like sports, you won't see sports stories), silence publishers (such as those who routinely post sensationalist, clickbait/ragebait, listicles, etc.), block keywords, etc. It also tries to prioritize news based on your interests. You can also report clickbait headlines, and GPT will instantly rewrite it for you. The interface is super minimalist and easy to use.

    I am also a fan of News Minimalist which uses GPT to rank the most important stories and write informative headlines for them.

    For domestic news in the United States, I like CNN Lite and NPR Text-Only. Another interesting service is Ground News, which tries to show how both "sides" present the news.

    For more specialized news, like Tech, I like Hacker News, TechMeme and ArsTechnica.

    For "in the weeds" or "wonky" politics and world news, I like Axios and Semafor; I also like FiveThirtyEight, but I'm not sure how that's going to hold up after they've cleaned house. For election polling and results, I like Decision Desk HQ.

    4 votes

  9. Comment on What password management solution do you use and why? in ~tech

    Lighthouse
    Link Parent
    I'll check it out! The biggest thing to look out for when evaluating password managers is audit results from a respected auditor (such as Cure53) and details about their encryption; the terms...

    I'll check it out!

    The biggest thing to look out for when evaluating password managers is audit results from a respected auditor (such as Cure53) and details about their encryption; the terms "military-grade encryption" is just marketing fluff, just as "aircraft-grade aluminum" or "surgical stainless steel".

    Anyone can implement AES256 (which is "military grade"), but the real key is doing it right -- it's so much more than just the encryption that matters, it's making sure everything about the app from the ground-up is designed correctly (such as making sure app data cannot be read from memory, the handling of keys, etc.)

    Ideally, even more modern forms of encryption, such as XChaCha20 or XSalsa20 should (hypothetically) be more hardened than AES256.

    3 votes

  10. Comment on What browser extensions do you absolutely love to use? in ~tech

    Lighthouse
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    The following are my must haves for me: uBlock Origin: Ad and malware blocker. Containers: Allows you to create "containers" so cookies and site data is isolated to a specific "container" (ex....

    The following are my must haves for me:

    • uBlock Origin: Ad and malware blocker.

    • Containers: Allows you to create "containers" so cookies and site data is isolated to a specific "container" (ex. banking, shopping, etc.)

    • DecentralEyes: Localizes requests for common libraries loading from various CDNs like Google, MaxCDN, JSdelivr, etc.

    • DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials: Let's you create email addresses that forward to your main email address that you can deactivate/reactivate at any time to avoid things like spam or using email addresses for data warehousing purposes.

    I use a password manager, but I intentionally do not install the browser plug-in in order to reduce the number of attack vectors.

    1 vote

  11. Comment on What password management solution do you use and why? in ~tech

    Lighthouse
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    I am begrudgingly using 1Password 7 (the non-subscription version), and I know it's something whose time is running out. I have zero interest in syncing my passwords to a computer that is not...

    I am begrudgingly using 1Password 7 (the non-subscription version), and I know it's something whose time is running out.

    I have zero interest in syncing my passwords to a computer that is not under my control, and the subscription version of 1Password does not allow the creation of private vaults.

    I'd like to find a KeePass-compatible password manager, but can't find an iOS client which has had a security audit, nor is there an ability to prevent a single iOS app from communicating over a network (to prevent it from "phoning home").

    1 vote

  12. Comment on What, in your opinion, are the best true wireless earbuds for the price? in ~tech

    Lighthouse
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    I'm a fan of my Sony WF-1000XM4. I think they have the right balance of sound quality, comfort and noise cancelling quality; you will need to adjust the EQ settings since they tend to be a bit...

    I'm a fan of my Sony WF-1000XM4. I think they have the right balance of sound quality, comfort and noise cancelling quality; you will need to adjust the EQ settings since they tend to be a bit "bass-y" with the default tuning.

    If you don't mind losing the higher quality ANC (active noise cancelling) and wireless charging, the Sony WF-C500 are also quite good for $60-80. There is also a newer version, the WF-C700M, which I don't have any experience with.

    3 votes